Property worth several lakhs were gutted in a fire that broke out on the third floor of Gee Gee Emerald Towers on Sterling Road in the wee hours of Tuesday.
According to Fire Department sources, the distress call was received around 12.30 am on Tuesday. The fire originated at the UPS room on the third floor.
Two fire tenders and a skylift from the Egmore Fire Station were pressed into service to douse the flames.
However, the flames could not be extinguished and help was sought from the Kilpauk Fire Station, from where another fire tender arrived.
Subsequently, two more water tenders, one from Teynampet and another from the Vepery Fire Station, were also called in.
The flames were contained after about 90 minutes and the same amount of time was spent in flushing the smoke out of the building.
Divisional Fire Officer (Centre) Manivannan, and additional DFOs Saravanan and Suresh Anand led the force. Speaking to Express, Saravanan said the fire originated at the UPS room and spread to the entire floor.
“Thick smoke screens caused us a lot of hardship as we could not make our way through. We used ‘smoke exhausters’ to enhance visibility and for easy access. We had breathing apparatus sets which were also put to use. The fire was controlled in that floor itself, but the smoke engulfed the entire building. Except for the loss of property, no casualties were reported,” he said.
A case was registered. Preliminary investigations suggested that the fire could have been triggered by an electrical short-circuit. The property damaged included computers and other electrical equipment.